In Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, fatal highway accidents have surpassed even terrorism in deadliness as the strategic region prepares to receive $64 billion in investment as a key route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

But to the surprise of many, it is not terrorism but fatal highway accidents that have killed more people in the last decade across the province. Signed in 2014, the $64 billion project will connect northwest China to Baluchistan’s Gwadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines to transport cargo, oil, and gas. This will provide the shortest route to Chinese cargo destined for the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.

According to the government-run Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, nearly 4,000 people have died in road accidents compared to 2,238 citizens killed in the terrorist attacks in the province during the last decade. (2012 to 2022) Local media and independent monitors, however, put the death toll in accidents way higher, around 8,000. The 813-kilometer (505-mile) Quetta-Karachi Highway — also known as the RCD highway — is the epicenter of deadly accidents in the province, which covers 42% land of Pakistan. The single-lane highway, which passes through 10 major cities, is locally known as “the killer road”, as over 800 accidents took place here last year alone according to the motorway police.

It is a major NATO supply route, which connects the country’s commercial capital Karachi to Chaman, bordering neighbouring Afghanistan. Increasing numbers of deaths in highway accidents are becoming a norm in Balochistan, a study recently released by Balochistan Youth and Civil Society, a non-governmental group striving for the extension of highways to reduce the growing number of accidents in the province. “It’s a bigger problem than terrorism in Balochistan,” it added.

A joint investigation team formed by the Balochistan government to look into the major reasons behind the rising number of road accidents, also acknowledged that the traffic authorities do not have any mechanism to monitor the speed limit and fitness of over 8,000 vehicles passing through the highway daily. To make things worse, the report added, drivers are often unable to see ahead on the sharp curves due to the mountainous nature of the area.

It is a common notion that the day dawns with a traffic accident in the province. Much has been said and written about this. But with no effective response from the authorities to bring an end to the deadly accidents, one such tragic accident took place on January 29, 2023, in the Lasbela district of the province where a passenger bus fell down from the bridge and caught fire in the bus, including women. 41 people lost their lives,

Accidents have become a daily occurrence on the highways of Balochistan, one such tragic accident took place on January 29, 2023, in the Lasbela district of the province where a passenger bus fell down from the bridge and caught fire in the bus, including women. 41 people lost their lives, the victim of this accident Abdul Baseer said that the Quetta-Karachi highway is a single road which often causes accidents. He said that their family members were also in this unfortunate accident, the bodies were unrecognizable due to burns.

Balochistan government spokesperson Farah Azim Shah said that oil carriers and freight vehicles are on the Quetta-Karachi highway. The federal government is working on a plan to double this highway, while the provincial government will take action against the passenger bus owners against speeding on the highway.

Causes of road accidents

1: Reckless driving

2: Overspeeding

3: Overloading

4: Narrow and poor roads

5: No timely repair and maintenance of roads by NHA

6: No signals

7: Overloaded marble trucks on Quetta-Karachi highway

8: Passenger buses carrying petrol and diesel

9: Drivers using drugs

10: No Fire extinguisher in buses 11: Absence of Motorway Police

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already inaugurated the dualizing of the Quetta-Karachi highway. However, the pace of work is extremely slow. With this pace, the dualizing work cannot be completed for the next two decades. The federal and provincial governments should ensure the timely completion of the dualization work from Karachi to Chaman on a war-footing basis. The Balochistan government should also ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the JIT reports.

According to the National Road Safety Strategy 2018-2030, a report administered by the Asian Development Bank and citing police data, 6,548 people had died at the scene of an accident on Pakistan’s roads in 2016, of which 355 fatalities happened on national highways and 6,003 on provincial roads. “In Pakistan, 9 out of every 10 fatalities occurs on a provincial road,” the report said. “There is general agreement that these figures are a significant under-estimate, with the highest level of under-reporting on provincial roads.” According to figures compiled by another source, a local NGO called the Balochistan Youth and Civil Society (BYCS), in the last six months, 744 people were killed and 8,157 wounded in 5,451 road accidents in the province. The Balochistan government has also decided to install trackers in buses to control speeding, Shahwani former spokesperson said, with 14 medical emergency response centers set up.

Highways and roads are of utmost importance for a country to develop economically and socially. They connect far-flung and metropolitan areas together and reduce long journeys into shorter ones. Unfortunately, the case is totally in the contrast in Balochistan. Despite being blessed with natural resources it lacks well-constructed highways. And the roads are broken and fully potholed

Even shorter distances have increased into long and tiresome ones. Generally, as a rule in modern road construction structures road networks tend to have a specific duration to expire but that rule doesn’t exist in Balochistan. Remains of broken roads that have been constructed ages ago still serve as highways for the people of Balochistan. The broken roads and single-lane highways are the leading causes of casualties in Balochistan

The federal government has allocated Rs74 billions funds for the expansion of one of the deadliest routes of Balochistan’s national highway also known as the RCD Highway connecting Karachi, Khuzdar, Quetta and Chaman after the loss of hundreds of precious lives and a huge number of road accidents. After the allocation of funds, the single-lane national highway route N-25 or RCD Highway will be expanded into two lanes.

This 796-km-long project will be completed in six months at a cost of Rs74.71 billion. The longest and busiest highway in Balochistan province, also known as RCD Shahrah, Karachi Khuzdar Quetta Chaman Single Road, will be expanded into a two-lane.

Karachi-Khuzdar-Quetta-Chaman N-25 highway is an important and historical route for trade to Afghanistan. According to the data of the non-governmental organization Balochistan Youth and Civil Society, 106 people died in 995 traffic accidents during 2021, while only 465 accidents took place on the highway from Khuzdar to Karachi, in which 37 people died and 665 were injured.

This highway starts from the city of Chaman in Balochistan bordering Afghanistan and goes through the districts of Pashin, Quetta, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar and Lasbela to Karachi. At Mastung, it joins the road to Iran. Is. N25 highway is considered to be the busiest highway in Balochistan.

Thousands of passenger and freight vehicles move on this highway every day and every year, but it is a single road, due to which, where the speed has to be kept low, fatal accidents are also increasing on this highway.

The business community and citizens have been demanding for the construction of the dangerous route for many years. In the PSDP of 2021-2022, the N-25 highway has been included in the dual carriageway project. According to NHA, after the completion of the tender stages, the road construction will start in two parts in the first section.

The ECNEC approved Karachi-Wadh-Khuzdar road project in a meeting chaired by the finance minister. The project will be completed in two phases over a period of 36 months. Under the first phase, Karachi to Khuzdar road will be expanded into two lanes.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudus Bizenjo said that work on a section of the 796-km-long main highway between Karachi, Khuzdar, Quetta and Chaman will begin this month. The tender for the second section of the two-lane highway has also been completed.

The Quetta-Karachi route is the second largest highway of Pakistan. It must not be ignored to revolutionize. This is the duty and responsibility of the government and National Highway Authority to revolute this narrow highway to avoid accidents. It must be re-constructed into a multi-lane highway as soon as possible.